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CD Spinner
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In this activity, learners create a simple “top” from a CD, marble and bottle cap, and use it as a spinning platform for a variety of illusion-generating patterns.

Touch the Spring (Lightbulb)
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In this activity, a lightbulb is placed in front of a concave mirror. The actual lightbulb is not visible to the viewer, but the viewer can see the mirror image of the lightbulb formed in space.

Physics in a Glass: Reversing Arrows
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In this simple activity, learners investigate refraction by placing a picture of an arrow behind a glass of water.

Hole in Your Hand
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Create an illusion where it appears that your hand has a hole in it. You'll see the results from when one eye gets conflicting information.

Far-Out Corners
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Are there boxes, is this an illusion, or is this real life Q-bert? Illusions are always fun to build especially when you can build them.
The Bent Pencil
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In this optics activity, learners explore how light bends and affects what we see.

Vanishing Rods
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This is a quick activity/demonstration that introduces learners to the concept of index of refraction. Learners place stirring rods in a jar of water and notice they can see them clearly.

Parabolas: It's All Done with Mirrors
Source Institutions
In this activity about light and reflection, learners use a special device called a Mirage Maker™ to create an illusion.
Moving Pictures
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In this optics activity, learners create flip books by drawing an image like an eye opening and closing on 24 small pages of paper.

Penny Cup Game
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In this optics activity, learners conduct an experiment to find out why two eyes are better than one!

Disappearing Glass Rods
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In this optics activity, learners discover how they can make glass objects "disappear." Learners submerge glass objects like stirring rods into a beaker of Wesson™ oil to explore how the principles of

Color Contrast
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Do you have a hard time matching paint swatches with your furniture? When you consider human perception, color is context dependent.

Phantom Phlame
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In this trick, hold your hand over a burning candle without getting burned, by reflecting and transmitting the light of two candles. This activity is best suited as a demonstration.

Anti-Gravity Mirror
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In this demonstration, amaze learners by performing simple tricks using mirrors. These tricks take advantage of how a mirror can reflect your right side so it appears to be your left side.

Afterimage
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In this activity about light and perception, learners discover how a flash of light can create a lingering image called an "afterimage" on the retina of the eye.

Magic Disc
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners create an optical illusion by spinning two attached cups. A round ball seems to magically appear when the cups spin.

Our Sense of Sight: How We Perceive Movement, Depth and Illusions
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners investigate visual perception as well as plan and conduct their own experiments.

Sliding Gray Step
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How can you make one shade of gray look like two? By putting it against two different color backgrounds! This activity allows learners to perform this sleight of hand very easily.

Benham's Disk
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners make a Benham Top to explore visual illusions and optics.

Shrinking Spot
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners control the (apparent) size of a hole with their brain.